The suicidal kamikazes were the Japanese empire’s last ditch effort to slow advancing Allied forces. Viewed as tragic heroes today, most of them sortied out from Kyushu and many of the former kamikaze bases have sprouted memorial hall museums and…

The suicidal kamikazes were the Japanese empire’s last ditch effort to slow advancing Allied forces. Viewed as tragic heroes today, most of them sortied out from Kyushu and many of the former kamikaze bases have sprouted memorial hall museums and…
The current unpleasantness, through no fault of my healthy and vaccinated self, had us locked down again so all travel plans were canceled for a spell. On the upside a graphic novel I’ve waited months for has come out so…
A uniquely Japanese item from World War II was the imon-bukuro (慰問袋), or comfort bag. Similar to modern day care packages, they were hand-assembled packages of comfort items for the troops sent by their supportive home front from the youngest…
In Nakagusuku village there’s a rather ordinary forested hill that’s been known by many names. The old Okinawans of Nakagusuku Village called it “Kishimaki-no-taki,” a sacred site of prayer. To the Imperial Japanese Army it was “161.8 Kouchi Jinchi,” a…
Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately, it’s been a busy few months. Back in May I began preparations for a series of school presentations I gave through June called Teenage Life in Wartime Japan. I’ll be writing about that soon,…
This year marks the 82nd anniversary of the Zero’s first flight on Apr. 1, 1939. Like battleship Yamato, the Zero is an instantly recognized symbol of Japan despite its current pacifistic leanings. The design is still aesthetically pleasing making it…
The Himeyuri Peace Museum in Itoman reopened after a renovation on Apr. 12, 2021. The renovation gave the exhibits a facelift and tweaked their presentation in order to better reach a modern, younger audience growing more distant from the war.…
This is the fifth and final entry in a series on the Himeyuri Student Corps and related war sites on Okinawa. My trip through southern Okinawa to visit the Himeyuri-related caves and tunnels ended not in a dark hole in…